Anyone Recall Reports of a Stolen .38-44 Outdoorsman?

[BobGSgt62]

Umm . . . am I missing something here? What is Cabela's role in all this!!?? Just return the gun to them - with all your accumulated info - get your refund and let them worry about their reputation for selling a stolen firearm.

 

[Gunhohulk]

Umm . . . am I missing something here? What is Cabela's role in all this!!?? Just return the gun to them - with all your accumulated info - get your refund and let them worry about their reputation for selling a stolen firearm.

Cabelas has already stated that a refund is inbound. The issue is that it seems that there may be a mixup in the stolen gun database and it would be terrible if that’s the case and this nice old piece ended up being destroyed. I could just take the refund and walk away but I’d rather take the time to follow up and either clear the gun and get it transferred to me or in the case it is really stolen to see if it can be returned to the original owner.

 

[Gun Relics]

Cabelas has already stated that a refund is inbound. The issue is that it seems that there may be a mixup in the stolen gun database and it would be terrible if that’s the case and this nice old piece ended up being destroyed. I could just take the refund and walk away but I’d rather take the time to follow up and either clear the gun and get it transferred to me or in the case it is really stolen to see if it can be returned to the original owner.

Absolutely! For one, it's a beauty and it is also a historic piece. I have an Outdoorsman 38/44 that shipped the first month of production following WW2. Yours is earlier. Once it's cleared up, it's important to letter this gun of yours too,

...and thank you for respecting both the firearm and the law.

 

[Doug M.]

This is the kind of silly regulatory crud that happens when someone with a "good idea" and no actual knowledge proposes laws and regulations. It's kind like the stupid arguments made by some government lawyers in defending such enactments. They are not consciously dishonest, but they are violating the ethics rules because they are not competent.

 

[Gunhohulk]

UPDATE! Sounds like there is some hope in sight. The local PD has identified that it is indeed a Model 15 that was reported stolen not the Outdoorsman. There are still some hoops to jump through being that CA can’t make anything firearms related easy but the odds of this pistol ending up in the collection(accumulation) have increased.

 

[Igiveup]

Two years ago I bought a Smith revolver from a dealer that owned a gun store in Ca. Purchase was made at a Reno gunshow. The purchase was run through background after I got home in Oregon. My FFL dealer was told it was stolen and not to release it. A state police officer picked it up from the store, said it was being returned to Ca. and would probably be destroyed. Before he got to the store all the easily removed parts fell off. He got a frame and barrel. At next show the dealer made it good.

 

[WildBillWJW]

Sarcasm is a valid humor and I’m not criticizing @lawandorder for a truthful statement.

Mr. Gore did contribute heavily to the commercialization of the internet.
But, While Mr. Gore is not one of my favorite people, I feel the current proclivity to disingenuous and misleading politicization of false history is dangerous and dislike when people continue the falsehood that he claimed to have invented the internet.

Al Gore and information technology - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

One of the funniest moments in political history tho’ …was when George W , during the debates, looked at Gore and said, “If you invented the internet…Why does it always start with WWW..?”

(Answer: “because you can’t believe everything you see there.”)

I also hope that lovely S&W survives.

Sir,
Your defense of almost president Al Gore, his statement and the referenced wiki data makes Kamala’s word salad almost sensible. And if you believe everything printed on the internet, then I have a few bridges to sale you…holly molly. No wonder we almost disappeared as a nation!

 

[WildBillWJW]

That is an excellent example of “local” control….which most conservatives favor…. the folks in CA like it, so that’s what they voted for and got. If you are in CA and don’t like it….Move. :>}. …and that’s why we have so many new residents (ex-Californians) here where I live. (We call it the “californication” of Texas.)

Decuerno,
Are you one of TX’s californications? And conservatives do not like any kind of government control. Neither federal, state, local, gun, etc. just wondering/saying.

 

[decuerno]

@WildBillWJW
#47:Thank you for proving the point (regarding believing everything you see on the Internet).

#48:Nope. Always a Texan, Never a Californian. Except for far-Northern CA, don’t care for the place. And, re: conservatism: Conservatives have been on the Wrong Side of History throughout History.

“Moderation” in all things, IMO. (except gun-collecting)

 

[GSP Fan]

I had a similar dilemma a couple of years ago. I bought a M57 ND that was pristine from a private seller on GI. He was an older gentleman (he sent a copy of his drivers license) and sent the gun to my FFL and all the proper paperwork was completed. Michigan is one of the few states that require the registration of a handgun. A month or so later my FFL gets a call from the Sherriff who calls me. I was told to bring the gun in immediately to the department. At this time I had bought a set of stag grips from the classifieds here. I took them off and put the rubber ones back on and went to see the law. It turns out the gun was reported stolen from the state of Washington over 30 years ago. I had to surrender the gun immediately. I was told it would go back to Washington so I called the state police there and was told that the gun would most likely be destroyed. So I was out the gun, the money and had a set of grips but no gun. I did the only reasonable thing that I could at this juncture and bought another M57 ND.
I hope the OP has much better luck with his situation.

 

[BKDinTexas]

I recently stumbled across this nice outdoorsman on Cabelas and had it sent my way. Did the background check last week and today I got a call that the background check was denied due to the gun being reported as stolen. CA DOJ Bureau of Firearms is next to impossible to reach so I’ve been speaking with the Local PD’s trying to track down more info and it’s starting to sound like it’s a case of mistaken identity and the stolen guns with the same serial number are a model 15 and a model 49. I have a sinking feeling that the Outdoorsman is going to find its way to the crusher…
View attachment 761899

Keep your fingers crossed that I can somehow pull this one back out of the governments dirty fingers.

Wierd because a NICS check only involves a general description of the type of firearm and does not include model or serial nos. Unless something has changed. So how did that pop as stolen?

 

[Gunhohulk]

Wierd because a NICS check only involves a general description of the type of firearm and does not include model or serial nos. Unless something has changed. So how did that pop as stolen?

I live in California and they have their own rules that involve a 10 day wait and their own background check process. It’s a pain.

 

[Gunhohulk]

I had a similar dilemma a couple of years ago. I bought a M57 ND that was pristine from a private seller on GI. He was an older gentleman (he sent a copy of his drivers license) and sent the gun to my FFL and all the proper paperwork was completed. Michigan is one of the few states that require the registration of a handgun. A month or so later my FFL gets a call from the Sherriff who calls me. I was told to bring the gun in immediately to the department. At this time I had bought a set of stag grips from the classifieds here. I took them off and put the rubber ones back on and went to see the law. It turns out the gun was reported stolen from the state of Washington over 30 years ago. I had to surrender the gun immediately. I was told it would go back to Washington so I called the state police there and was told that the gun would most likely be destroyed. So I was out the gun, the money and had a set of grips but no gun. I did the only reasonable thing that I could at this juncture and bought another M57 ND.
I hope the OP has much better luck with his situation.

Sorry to hear about your 57 and glad you got another! I’m hoping that it all gets cleared up and I can still end up with the Outdoorsman.

 

[George_in_SD]

How do we know the stolen gun isn’t an 1899? How do we know the stolen gun isn’t a 38 caliber regulation police?
There’s lots of 38 caliber guns that could have that serial number with no model number. How do we even know they’re asking about the right gun?

 

[Gun Relics]

How do we know the stolen gun isn’t an 1899? How do we know the stolen gun isn’t a 38 caliber regulation police?
There’s lots of 38 caliber guns that could have that serial number with no model number. How do we even know they’re asking about the right gun?

The odds that it's this gun are next to nothing. If you ever go to Colt's database and search for a model by serial number, no matter what number you put in there are 20 or 30 of that number in the database. Same with Smith and Wesson. Best thing these companies did was add letters to the serial number, which designates frame or model number. Next best thing was stamping model numbers (don't know what took them so long).

Unfortunately, it takes a government employee time to research this and they are busy. I am confident the DOJ will help the OP. I have written them and they have helped me with a number of questions and problems. In fact I was suprised at how responsive both the DOJ and my ATF reps have been.

Speaking of ATF - I have an idea and I'm going to PM the original poster to see if I can help.